COLLEGE GUILD
PO Box 6448, Brunswick Maine 04011
TRAVEL, Unit 2
MASSACHUSETTS
Molly came home from visiting her grandson Dwayne a changed woman. She marveled at how
successfully she had managed to leave the familiarity and safety of her own little community of
Bar Harbor, and travel all the way to Brunswick. She began to think about other parts of New
England. The guidebooks all emphasized the gorgeous fall colors and summer at the ocean and
hikes in the mountains of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Molly knew that there could be
nothing more beautiful on earth than a Maine October – a glory of crisp air with brilliant reds,
oranges and yellows wherever you looked. But when it came to history…..
Molly had been amazed at all she learned about U.S. history in such a small area as BathBrunswick. She had been fascinated by it too; she didn't know the people and events of the past
would interest her so much, but now she wanted to learn more. Massachusetts was a place
immersed in everything leading up to the birth of the United States. After all, it was there that,
following a three month voyage on the Mayflower, the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Could
she cross the state line, leaving Maine behind for the first time in her life, and survive a visit to
one of the biggest cities in the country? Yes, she could!
PART 1
One of the most infamous events in this city's history was the Boston Tea Party. Our country was
still under the rule of England, and there was a tax on all imports, making tea (for one)
excessively expensive. In 1773 when a cargo of tea arrived from England, a protest erupted. A
group of Bostonians, dressed as Indians, threw the cargo of these ships into the harbor. The
British Parliament was outraged and found a way to punish Boston.
1. How could the British government in 1773 punish a rebellious city across the ocean?
2. Why did these protesters dress as Indians? What do you think about that?
We now use the term "Native American" instead of Indian.
3. Has this made a difference? If so, how? If not, why not?
The city was outraged by England's reaction to the Boston Tea Party. The 1765 Stamp Act (a
similar attempt to gouge the settlers) was also met with protest as businessmen refused to use the
stamps, practically bringing trade to a halt. This rebellion was less violent but very effective; the
British Parliament was forced to repeal the Stamp Act.
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These taxes were the issue contributing to the first armed rebellion in the colonies, the beginning,
you could say, of the American Revolution.
4. Exactly what were we revolting about besides the price of tea?
5. What is the most unreasonable tax in the country today?
6. Name one other revolt (large or small) that has occurred in this country, including its
origin and the result.
One outrageous expense is what families and friends must pay when receiving a collect phone
call from a prisoner.
7. Write a letter to the Editor or to your Governor about collect phone calls from prison.
8. Which is worse – a prison mail room or the United States Postal Service!?
PART 2
Boston’s nickname is “Beantown”, because in the early days people used to eat beans for Sunday
dinner. The religious laws were very strict, and many people did not cook on Sundays, so on
Saturday evening, they took their bean pots to the local baker. Those were left in the bakers'
ovens overnight and by Sunday morning they were cooked and ready to carry home after church.
Some people think that the streets of downtown Boston follow the paths that cows took when
Boston was a brand new settlement and much of the land was farms. That may not be strictly
true, but what is for sure is that many streets of downtown Boston are twisty, tiny and confusing.
The city is also unusual for its wonderful park system that follows the same twisty layout of the
city – there is nothing square about them. In 1634, Boston became the first city to set aside land
for a public park, the "Boston Common". Central Park in New York may now be the best known
city park, but Boston's are lovely, especially (Molly thought) the Public Gardens complete with
"swan boats." Molly took a ride on one. It was long and flat and the driver sat inside a big swan
and pedaled the boat! Gliding around the winding pond of the public gardens was a delightful
experience she was sure no other city provided.
9. Draw a picture of a swan boat.
10. If you could design a public park, what would be in it?
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PO Box 6448, Brunswick Maine 04011
In the 1950’s in Boston, construction added two large elevated six-lane highways to the
landscape, but in 1982 a project was begun to improve the city landscape and even create more
parks -- but through an unusual, questionable route. The "Big Dig" proposed to put both of these
highways underground, then to put parks on the top of them!
Everyday several hundred thousand people have to move through the city, work in it and live in
it. Imagine building super highways underneath a city while all the activities of the city are
going on above and around the project.
11. List just three problems the planners faced.
12. How would you begin to solve them?
Would it surprise you to learn that over 20 years later, the Big Dig is not finished? As of 2002,
they had taken out 15 million cubic yards of dirt. That is enough to fill fifteen football stadiums
right up to the top. Every landfill has been filled, but there is still more dirt.
13. What should Boston do with all that dirt?
Most people in Boston talk about how hard it is to live and work in a city where everything is
dug up. And many people many people talk about how much this is going to cost. When the
project was begun in 1982, the budget was $2.6 billion. It was to be the biggest public works
project in United States history. Well, it is far from finished and as of 2002, it had cost over 11
billion dollars! 70% of the cost of the building project is federal money.
14. How many times over budget is the Big Dig so far? (twice, 3x, 4x…?)
15. How much have the feds spent so far on this project?
16. If you were a politician in charge of something that has gone so far over budget, what
would you say to the taxpayers?
PART 3
Molly found that there are still some little corners of Boston that are not under construction and
look like they did a century ago. Tiny Bay Village is near the Public Gardens, barely a quarter of
a square mile. Most of the streets, (there are fewer than half a dozen), are one-way because it is
so small. The sidewalks are made of brick and cobblestones, and the streetlights are gaslights,
even today. It was originally the home of the carpenters, brick layers, and other working men
who built the expensive fancy houses on Beacon Hill in the early 1800’s.
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PO Box 6448, Brunswick Maine 04011
Bay Village had the opposite of a Big Dig in the 1800's; the brick houses in Bay Village were
raised 12-18 feet, lifting the whole area from the edge of a bay into the city! Ironic, isn't it – in
the nineteenth century, the city filled in the land, and now they're taking it out again.
Molly loved the streets of Bay Village, and she also found out about the area's history.
One Bay Village "son" wrote some of the best known stories in the United States. Stephen
King’s stories of terror owe a lot to him When she was a girl, Molly couldn't read them without
being afraid to go upstairs by herself for weeks afterwards. The Fall of the House of Usher, The
Black Cat, The Gold Bug and The Pit and the Pendulum were written by Edgar Allen Poe.
Poe was also a poet. Here are the first two stanzas from “Annabel Lee”, one of his best known
poems:
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love –
I and my ANNABEL LEE –
With a love that the winged seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
Think back to Unit 1 and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who got rich writing poetry. Poe's
poetry has remained famous and is still read, but he died at age 40, flat broke. He was in debt
before he was even in his 20's and had to flee his creditors, change his name and leave the
University of Virginia where he was a student. Although he was honorably discharged from the
Army (under another false name), Poe entered West Point, then was dismissed for "Gross
Neglect of Duty" and "Disobedience of Orders." Meanwhile, he was being published and
receiving prizes for his poetry! While still in his 20's, he became editor of a literary magazine,
but then lost his job due to his drinking problem. Until his death, Poe continued to write poems
that are known and respected today.
17. Poe's success as a poet was comparable to Longfellow's, so why do you suppose his
personal life was a disaster?
18. Explain to a junior high school kid why success and popularity as an artist don't
automatically translate into happiness.
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One of Poe's poems is The Bells. There are four stanzas, each about a different kind of bell -silver bells (What a world of merriment their melody foretells.), golden bells (What a world of
happiness their harmony foretells.), iron bells (What a world of solemn thought their monody
foretells.), and "brazen" bells -19. Make up your own description for Brazen Bells (Poe's choice of words for alarms).
"What a world of _____________ their _______________ foretells.
In this poem, Poe ends each wonderfully descriptive stanza with:
…of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
bells, bells, bells, bells,
for SILVER From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells!,
for GOLD To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!,
for BRAZEN In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!,
for IRON To the moaning and the groaning of the bells!,
Hear the sledges with the bells Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
Hear the mellow wedding bells Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
From the molten-golden notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats
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COLLEGE GUILD
PO Box 6448, Brunswick Maine 04011
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! -how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
Hear the loud alarum bells Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!
In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their affright!
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune,
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor
Now -now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced moon.
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows;
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling
And the wrangling,
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PO Box 6448, Brunswick Maine 04011
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells Of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!
Hear the tolling of the bells Iron bells!
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan.
And the people -ah, the people They that dwell up in the steeple,
All alone,
And who tolling, tolling, tolling,
In that muffled monotone,
Feel a glory in so rolling
On the human heart a stone They are neither man nor woman They are neither brute nor human They are Ghouls:
And their king it is who tolls;
And he rolls, rolls, rolls,
Rolls
A paean from the bells!
And his merry bosom swells
With the paean of the bells!
And he dances, and he yells;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the paean of the bells,
Of the bells Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the throbbing of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells -
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PO Box 6448, Brunswick Maine 04011
To the sobbing of the bells;
Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.
When you repeat a word over and over again in conversation, it can get really boring.
20. In this context, is Poe’s repetition of "bells, bells, bells…" boring? Why or why not?
During the “Prohibition Era” in the 1920’s, the Government passed laws making alcohol illegal;
while they were in effect, people went to a places called Speak Easies to get illegal alcohol.
Some speak easies became nightclubs that are still famous. Bay Village was home to most of
Boston’s speak easies during Prohibition.
21. Why would they be referred to as "speak easies"?
22. What is a name now for where to obtain illegal substances?
Eventually the Government realized that laws prohibiting alcohol could not be enforced and they
were repealed. Currently, the use of some of the following substances is illegal; all can cause
severe health hazards and major damage to society as well – increased violence, crime, cost, etc:
beer
cocaine/speed
hard liquor
heroin (opiates)
marijuana
tobacco
LSD/PCP/ecstasy (hallucinogens)
23. Which of these substances are now banned?
24. Which are banned and should be legal? Why?
25. Which are legal and should be banned? Why?
26. Write an essay on the cost to society of banning a particular drug.
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In the 1950’s-1960’s, Bay Village became a violent district heavily used by drug dealers and
prostitutes. Today people living in Bay Village don’t want illegal activities in the streets. Here is
some language from a Bill which they submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature to solve the
problem:
WHEREFORE certain public ways in the City of Boston are overburdened by motor vehicle
traffic having no lawful purpose…which has caused a pattern of criminal conduct…including
prostitution and the use of illegal drugs, Cruising, as defined in this section is hereby
prohibited….Cruising means driving a vehicle past a….point two or more times in any two
hour period between the hours of six p.m. and six a.m.
The law is not to apply to police or fire department vehicles; taxicabs, buses, or delivery trucks;
or cars with official Bay Village Resident stickers . Penalties are 30 days in jail or $250 for a
first offense, and repeat offenders can lose title to their cars.
27. Will this help solve the problem?
28. What do you think can be done to decrease violence in a community without just
driving the problem to another community?
In Bay Village in November, 1942. World War II was on everybody’s mind. Young men were
going overseas and some of them would never return. So Bay Village, like the rest of the United
States, had a "let’s have fun now cause we don't know if we'll be here tomorrow" feeling.
The Cocoanut Grove was the place to party, with the best music and prettiest girls in Bay
Village.
It was clear and cold outside that day in November. There had been a big football game that
afternoon, so college kids were mingling with the soldiers, celebrating their team’s victory (or
drowning the pain of its defeat). It started with a light bulb that somebody unscrewed to get
some privacy with his girl. The guy sent to fix it couldn’t see, so he lit a match. It ignited
something flammable, and the fire spread.
Within two minutes it was upstairs. The decorations were paper; there were 1000 people dancing
in a room that should not have held more than 700; the doors did not open outwards. People
jammed the revolving doors in panic as they tried to escape. The firemen could not get past them
to fight the fire. Four hundred ninety two died that night. Bodies were found piled up six deep at
the revolving exit doors. Authorities later said that more than 300 of those people could have
been saved. This fire was responsible for changes in the laws, instituting fire codes to make
buildings safer.
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29. What fire regulations in effect in public buildings could have reduced the awful death
toll at the Coconut Grove?
30. Write a letter to the Editor of the Boston newspaper on the morning after the fire saying
what you think should be done about it.
The Appendix contains the recollections of a young man who personally saw the devastation.
31. Compare his account with Victor Boeck's about the wreck of the Cheseborough, the
interview you read in the Unit on Maine.
Firefighters have received tremendous recognition following the terrorism of 9/11/01. In that
disaster, as at the Cocoanut Grove, fire fighters were running to a disaster site while hundreds of
people were running away from it.
32. What makes it possible to fight panic and "do your job" in situations like this?
33. Some who escaped the Coconut Grove fire were on their way to World War II – what
are the similarities and differences between soldiers and fire fighters?
34. How has this comparison between them changed for WW II vs. today?
There are markers in Bay Village where Poe was born and where the Cocoanut Grove fire killed
so many people. You have to look to find them. History disappears if we don’t study and
remember it. The Cocoanut Grove’s location is now a hotel parking lot. Somebody lives in the
house where Poe was born.
On her visit to Boston, Molly was alternately overwhelmed, delighted, fascinated and saddened.
As she boarded the bus for home with all the history and sights of Boston churning in her head,
she thought back to the beginning, to Massachusetts as it was many years ago. The earliest
harvest Thanksgiving in America was kept by the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth in 1621.
Thanksgiving is a day set apart to give thanks for the blessings of the closing year. There is a
famous painting of the Pilgrims celebrating the first Thanksgiving with the Indians – in
friendship.
Molly thought about this first Thanksgiving, and the story of the "Sister Cities" of Bath, Maine
and Shiriki, Japan. Despite all she had learned on her trips of Revolution, war and disaster, she
fell asleep on the bus thinking of intercultural friendship,
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Appendix
"Cries and sobs confirmed for me what my eyes chose to avoid"
(Excerpts from) An interview with Thomas Gavin.
On Saturday, November 28, 1942, my faithful attendance at every home game of the undefeated Boston
College Eagles football team was broken as it was also my first day of employment in a part time job…
My happiness was dashed by newsboys shouting the headlines: Boston College routed by Holy Cross 55
to 12. There was no joy in "Beantown" that night, and I gloomily worked through the dismal evening until
9 o'clock closing. Arriving home shortly after 10 o'clock that evening, I patiently but tiredly answered
questions from my parents and older siblings concerning my new job. Suddenly the telephone rang.
My father, a detective sergeant on the Boston Police Department, answered and in seconds announced
that he had to leave at once. There was, he explained, a full police and fire mobilization along with all
civil defense personnel, air raid wardens, etc. The following morning, I was routed out of bed by my
mother to attend the 8:30 Children's Mass, a requirement in our household until you reached age 17. I was
astounded while at Mass to hear the priest announce that the worst loss of life in a fire in the history of the
city had occurred. Loss of lives was estimated at 450, and recovery operations were still continuing. The
priest identified the location as the Coconut Grove nightclub. I couldn't imagine a place holding that many
people as my only frame of reference was the neighborhood soda fountain where 15 people constituted a
huge crowd. I pondered, if there were that many dead, how many had managed to escape? I was sure the
priest's numbers were wrong.
I rushed home to tune in our radio to hear for myself. Alas, it was true, and Dad was still there at the
scene. He had called for one of us to deliver his electric razor and some money to a prearranged location.
I was elected to go. When I arrived in downtown, my father met me in the company of my uncle who was
the Superintendent of Police. The scene was hectic even though we stood in an empty store, about 100
yards from the disaster site. It was impossible for cars to pass through the fire apparatus, rescue vehicles,
and burnt out cars adjacent to the night club. Hoses and tools were everywhere. Geysers of water still shot
into the air from the ruptured or semi frozen hose lines.
About five hours into my task, when the tired senior police personnel were probably not exercising their
best judgement due to exhausted manpower and in desperation, I was assigned to take a grieving older
couple to The Park Square garage which was being utilized as a temporary morgue for the recovered
dead. It was appalling. Huge concrete bays emptied of vehicles were filled with row upon row of dead
bodies. Some bodies had been hardly touched by flames and were still attired in formal wear. Other
unrecognizable bodies were covered by blankets. Long lines of grief stricken people threaded their way
through the rows of the dead. The blanket being removed briefly for a possible identification was most
times answered with a negative head shake. However, the silence was sometimes broken by loud wails
and uncontrolled sobs when a positive identification was made. I tried never to look at anything closely
by averting my gaze, but the cries and sobs confirmed for me what my eyes chose to avoid.
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